Center of Midfield Will Decide West Ham United vs. Manchester City Game
The lofty position of fourth place that West Ham United currently reside in is one of the current talking points of the Premier League. However, Sam Allardyce has managed to improve not only the results of his team so far this season, but also the style of play, and it will give the Hammers’ boss an interesting dilemma heading into the game against Manchester City on Saturday.
Allardyce has been employing a more adventurous diamond formation so far this year, instead of the 4-4-1-1 formation that he employed last season. The question now is, will Allardyce stick with it for the game against the champions? Indications are that he probably will and it should make for interesting viewing with the bold approach having both pros and cons for the Hammers.
They should out number City in the center of the field with City usually only fielding two central midfielders themselves. But with Yaya Toure not moving box-to-box as fluidly as he once did, it can leave them exposed in that area against any team, never mind one with four players in that area of the field.
The problem with playing against teams like City is the constant pressure you find yourself under as they pass the ball around and probe your defense for openings. It wears teams down as they struggle to get enough possession to catch a break, and even mount an attack themselves. West Ham should, in theory, get a fair amount of possession themselves, however, playing this way, which will allow them to then test an inconsistent City defense.
The problem will come if City still win the midfield battle even with the numerical disadvantage. With fullbacks who like to push on like Pablo Zabaleta and Aleksandar Kolorov, City will stretch the West Ham midfield and exploit the space in the wide areas. Whoever has the most possession will have a bigger advantage than normal in this game with both teams having holes that the other will be looking to exploit.
The game is going to come down to possession and winning the midfield battle, and although it could go horribly wrong for Allardyce and his team, it could also go perfectly to plan. It would be a brave midfield selection to persevere with the diamond formation for this game, but in such a key area against City, it might just be a risk worth taking.
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